How to make….A printed fruit tote bag

Printed Fruit Tote Bag

Oh my goodness, I can’t believe how long it has been since I last wrote a How to Craft Blog post I haven’t written one since last August!! Things have been really manic in our house which is why I have had a bit of a Blogging blip.

Since my last post we have been busy trying to sell our house which has meant I have been constantly trying to keep it tidy and has made it a bit difficult to have craft supplies spread out everywhere! Anyway, we have agreed a sale now, for the second time, so fingers crossed it will go through ok and my dining table can go back to being a crafting tip!!

I have a few projects in mind that I want to try out but in the mean time I have had this one hiding away for a while. I love the idea of fruit printing – it reminds me of being little and doing potato printing at school – which would also totally work when making these! Excuse the slightly pants photos – I will get some nicer ones taken soon!

These are a fun project that you can do for yourself or with the kids and it is a nice and inexpensive way to create something unique and personal. I am sure the little ones would love something like this to carry their treasures about in!

What you will need:

Fruit – apple/lemon/etc

Fabric paint

Paintbrush

Canvas bag

Piece of card – about the size of the bag

How to make it:

Take your canvas bag and place the card inside – this is to stop the paint leaking through from the front to the back, which will look rubbish and also end up sticking the bag together (and also possibly staining your table….not that this happened to me the first time, ahem….)!!

Cut your apple/lemon in half and give it a little dry with some kitchen roll

Carefully paint the fruit, you want a nice even layer all the way across but not too much or you will lose the definition of the print

Gently place the fruit onto the bag and then give it a firm press for a couple of seconds

Remove the fruit trying not to smudge it!

Repeat steps 3 to 5 until you have as many fruit prints as required in your chosen layout

Use a brush to fill in any gaps you may not like with a bit extra paint

Place the bag somewhere out of the way and allow time for it to dry, about an hour should do it

You can now add in any other decorations you want, for example some pips a I have, or glitter glue if you are feeling fancy!

Leave the bag to dry again after any additional decorations and then you are good to take it out shopping!

If you are feeling adventurous you could even make your own tote bag first – or you could use this technique to decorate this easy beach bag idea.